Take Action: Urge Your Members of Congress to Defend Federal Funding for Vital Refugee Programs

Right now, Congress is considering a funding bill (a “rescissions” package) that would completely strip funding away from U.S. humanitarian assistance to displaced people worldwide this fiscal year 2025, while Congress simultaneously continues negotiating funding bills to operate the federal government next fiscal year 2026. Already earlier this month, Congress passed the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), which excludes refugees and newcomers from eligibility for Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP (food stamps), and other programs.

The indefinite refugee ban remains in place with vanishingly few new arrivals, blocking funding for resettlement agencies and stranding thousands of refugees without basic support. Resettlement offices around the country are struggling to stay open and serve vulnerable individuals who have already been resettled, relying on crucial integration programs that still exist — for now — while the administration chips away at domestic human needs programs. Overseas, steep cuts to humanitarian aid have placed already-vulnerable refugees in even greater insecurity and danger.

With the U.S. refugee resettlement program, humanitarian infrastructure, and local community-based service providers facing unprecedented threats, right now is a critical time to make your voice heard to your Members of Congress to defend federal investments for vital refugee programs.